Hackers claim to take down U.S. tear gas maker site

The “Anonymous” hacking group on Tuesday claimed to have shut down the website of security firm Combined Systems, which it accused of providing the tear gas used in crackdowns on protests.

The statement circulated in forums used by the shadowy “hacktivist” group could not immediately be confirmed. The Combined Systems website appeared to be down, and the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

“You war profiteering all crazy, selling mad chemical weapons to militaries and cop shops around the world, thinking you will get away unscathed by the rising tides of insurrection?” the statement said.

“Think again… Combined Systems, lay down your arms: you just lost the game.”

The statement posted on YourAnonNews — a Twitter account used by the group — went on to claim that hackers had taken phone numbers, emails, passwords and other information from Combined Systems employees and clients.

Last week the website of the Central Intelligence Agency was briefly inaccessible after Anonymous claimed to have knocked the US spy agency offline.

In January the group briefly took down the websites of the US Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing website Megaupload.

Most Anonymous cyberattacks are distributed denial of service attacks in which a large number of computers are commanded to simultaneously visit a website, overwhelming its servers.